Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC has reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 15.9%, now holding 7,490 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million.
• Analysts have lowered their target prices for Lowe's stock, with the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $270.68.
• Lowe's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $1.15, with an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Rathbones Group PLC cut its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,490 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,420 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,572 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,471 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.68.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 4.8%

NYSE:LOW opened at $256.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.57 and a 200 day moving average of $230.69.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

Lowe's Companies Company Profile

Lowe's Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical.

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